Pain, Love, and Shame
by Dark Creation
Summary: Magus tries to overcome personal demons and turns to Lucca for council. All the while, the world around them changes as Lavos fades into the background and a new threat emerges. Chapter Six: New questions emerge from the flames of the orphanage......
1. Chapter One: Lucca

Pain, Love, and Shame

Written By: Dark Creation

We all have times of hopelessness and despair. Many of us are met with adversity that relents after we endure it, but there are those of us who are always under fire from the hardships and misfortunes of life. I always thought I was one of those people. Throughout my childhood, I was teased by other children because of my appearance. I was a tomboy by nature, and my specially designed helmet and spectacles didn't make me appear any more normal.

My family is not one of particular wealth. Most of the projects that my father and I work on begin as trash for another and we make by on our successful inventions, which come rather infrequently, and mechanical repairs. My mom used to be seamstress, before the accident. Now, she spends her days staring sorrowfully into the sky.

I dwelled on my difficult life whenever I wasn't working on something or spending time with Crono. I mean, who wouldn't when almost nobody sees you as something special, but I learned to live with it. There are those of us, however, who don't.

We had just been humbled by Lavos a few weeks earlier and seen many of the truths of our quest be turned upside down. We weren't supposed to lose. Magus wasn't supposed to be a good guy. And Crono………we weren't supposed to lose him.

There was something we could do about that and, surprisingly, Magus helped show us the way. He told us of Gaspar and the possibility of Crono's resurrection. This led us to 2300 A.D. and the throne of Lavos in his world of the future, Death Peak.

Only three of us could go, and because of that, it took us a while to decide who would go. Marle was still having hysterical fits about Crono's demise and Frog, over the weeks following the Ocean Palace disaster, had become her consoler. So, when we decided to head out, Frog, with a clearer head than Marle could have had, suggested that he and Marle should stay behind, to spare her the pain of the possibility that we may fail. Given his knowledge of the creatures of the era, Robo was asked to go. Ayla, who hated 12,000 B.C. because of the blizzard, didn't want to go. That left me and Magus.

I wanted to go. It was something that meant a lot to me, given that Crono had been my only friend for years. I wanted to be there when he returned to us and I wanted to be the first to know if we would never be reunited.

So we went and made our way, slowly, up the mountain. We battled the denizens of hell, creatures spawned from test tubes, and even one of the spawn of Lavos, before we decided to rest and set up camp.

"There, all set. How does that feel?" I asked Robo after making a few adjustments to Robo's programming hardware, which had been damaged by the stresses of time travel. If only we were all so easy to fix after traveling through time.

"It feels alright, but I really won't know the full effects of your adjustments until I shutdown and reboot. It will take a few hours, so I shall do so now." Robo said with that cold robot voice. He was more human than almost anyone I had ever known, but even after all we had been through, his robotic voice still got to me, just a bit.

"Okay Robo, I'll be here when you wake up." I told him, encouraging the humanity in his programming. He had grown to be like a big brother to me, and I always felt safer with him around. Now that it was just me and Magus, however, things got quiet quickly.

To that point, I tried to avoid speaking with him and he appeared not to mind that. He kept to himself all the time, almost never speaking and when he did, he spoke arrogantly, trying to bother or offend someone. I think he enjoyed boiling the blood of those around him. My impression of him was that he was an arrogant, flashy egomaniac who thought the world of himself. Then I saw him on the battlefield. Never have I seen such ruthless, brutal, inhumane bloodshed seem so artfully performed. He never gloated about his victories and if his magiks were not so immense, you would not notice he was doing anything if you weren't watching him from the start. He killed and he moved on and that was what scared me the most.

So, I decided to work on one of my little trinkets. I always carried small little projects around to work on when I was bored. I rarely ever finished one, but it made me feel like I was getting something done. I looked up, from time to time, to see what Magus was doing and every time I did so, I saw him looking intently at me. As much as it bothered me, I said nothing. In fact, it was him that initiated the conversation.

"What are you doing?" The words clawed their way from his throat. It caught me by surprised, even though he spoke softly, and I dropped what I was working on into my lap.

"It's called a power seal. It takes the kinetic energy of an attack and transfers it into the wearer." He didn't ask what it did, but I explained anyway.

"Does it work?" He asked. He seemed disturbingly interested in me.

"No, this one is damaged, maybe even beyond repair, but I'm trying to see how it works."

"What good will that do?" He seemed determined to make conversation. It was kind of odd, but who was I to question his interest, I knew to little of him to do so.

"Well, I might be able to build a working model if I understand its mechanical systems."

"I see. Is this what you do with your spare time?"

"Uh, yeah. I like this kind of stuff."

"I used to be, but it was discouraged." He spoke of his past. This was the first time that I'd heard him do so since we met with him at the North Cape.

"Well, I'm not exactly the most popular person where I come from for it, either." I never could have imagined that we had ever something in common. Perhaps, under different circumstances, he could have…….

"You must have dealt with adversity well. I was….not so fortunate."

"…um, well…."

"Does it bother you that I display such self pity?"

"A bit."

"…" He glared at me. I looked down at the broken power seal then back at him. He looked down to the ground with a scowl.

"Why are you, I mean, why did you come with us. You could have refused to come. No one would have made you." I asked him bluntly. At this point, it seemed he wanted to open up to me a bit, for whatever reason.

"The truth is, Lucca, I didn't care either way. It has been a long time since I cared about anything, save my revenge." That statement bothered me.

"What do you mean by that." I said, curiously.

"In order to care about something, you have to have feelings for it, good or bad. I have felt so much pain that it is almost completely dulled. It is like a wound, the most painful part is the initial opening and it hurts for a while, but eventually the wound, despite still being there, doesn't hurt anymore. I have felt so much pain for so long that none of it really hurts anymore."

"You must feel joy sometimes." I said, concerned about his current state. He was acting so oddly, I thought maybe he may have lost it.

"Not in a long time. I was once like you, in Zeal. I was disliked because I was different. Back then, I had Schala to comfort me. After Lavos took her from me, all I had was her memory and the prospect of revenge and eventually, my revenge overwhelmed her memory." He stopped for a moment, openly remenicing about his dark life. "I remember when it happened. It was that day, in the Denadaro Mountains, when I met Cyrus for the last time. I had grown up being trained to slaughter, but whenever I tried to ravage the helpless and innocent, her memory would keep me from doing so. I was able to justify the slaying of Cyrus as self defense, though he clearly was no match for me, but when the focus shifted to his squire, I paused. The thought of what Schala would think of me had always kept me from exploiting the weak before. Ozzie bellowed something about giving the poor boy a more fitting form. That was when the pain I had endured surfaced to overwhelm her memory. In that instance, I no longer cared about anything other than making all those who stood in my way feel the same pain that I'd felt. I muttered something about having a little fun and transformed him into Frog. I've been half dead on the inside ever since."

I was, for lack of a better word, touched. Everything he'd said had gotten to every empathetic nerve inmy heart. I didn't understand why he was telling me all this, but I understood the pain he'd felt. We shared to same pain, though he had endured much more than I. It almost worried me that I may eventually become like him, someday.

"So you don't care about anything anymore. No her, not anything."

"Just revenge."

"No, that's not possible." I refused to accept his hoplessness. "You care. You have to. There is no way you don't care about anything but revenge."

"Are you questioning what I have endured?" He said, offended.

"No, I fully understand your pain, but even after all that, you can't say you don't care about her. Not after what you told me. You may have faltered a bit, but deep down, you still care."

"You think I haven't tried to tell myself that? I hated myself for what I've done, but it has just become so overwhelming. It's just easier to stop caring."

"Maybe, but you wouldn't have the will for revenge if you didn't care." I stunned him. I made perfect sense in a way he'd never thought of. He didn't say anything about it, but I could tell he knew I was right.

"…Did you ever meet her?" He asked me.

"Once." I replied simply.

"She was so beautiful." He said. I'm not sure, but it was like he was trying to force himself to care. "I remember getting up early just to watch her sleep, to watch her dream. My own dreams were so dark and painful. I often tried to envision what she was dreaming about. It made me feel better to think about her dreams than to dwell on my own."

"You must have loved her a lot." I said. I paused for a moment, looked at me, and revealed a jewel, hidden under his breastplate.

"She gave me this. It has her picture in it, but only I can see it. It was prized for its magical properties of defense, but I always loved it because I could see her in it. I haven't looked at it since that day."

I let him to himself. It just felt like he needed to be left alone. After everything, It just seemed like I had served my purpose.

We completed our mission and brought Crono back. When we entered the time freeze, I saw the look on his face when he saw her frozen form, crumpled over before his mother and Lavos. He stared at her for what seemed like forever. Even while Robo and I replaced Crono with the clone, he just stood there, staring at her. Robo and I turned to leave, with Crono in our arms, and as we did, I heard something. It was so faint that it probably couldn't be heard anywhere other than that frozen silent world.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry….."

I dunno what you guys think of this, but this has been brewing in my head for the past couple weeks, so I had to get it out. The idea of it had been there for a lot longer, but I just saw the scene in my head one night and I've carried it for a couple days, so I think it's a bit different that what I originally thought up, but I think this has the same spirit. Anyway, I wanna hear from you guys, so speak loud and clear and review this thing. I'm sorry I worked on this small one shot before finished the next chap of The Prophet's Apprentice, but I promise it's coming. Anyway, that is enough from me. Go Pats!!!!

Dark Creation


	2. Chapter Two: Magus

Pain, Love, and Shame

Part Two

I watched her that night. I watched her walk through that gate and I knew where it led. I knew so much more about her than she could have possibly imagined. I knew them all. While they played around and slept, I studied all I could. I did as Gaspar did and watched, listened, and learned through the timestream. At first, I looked for a trace, somewhere, for her, but then I began to see them, in their youth. An innocent Marle, completely unaware of the wounds the day of her mother's death would inflict upon her. The loss of Crono's father, almost a footnote in the lad's life, as it is rather easy to live on past a drunken, abusive father and husband. Then there was little Lucca.

Lucca's situation interested me most. Of them all, she was most like me. Not in demeanor or philosophy, but in history. She blamed herself for her mother's crippling injury, so much like I had blamed myself for so much. I watched it over and over again, sickening as it was, I could not stop. The agony in the young Lucca's eyes was so much like my own. As I looked at her older self, I could still see it, just as she could see mine.

The reunion, as it came to be called by the seven of us, was rather bland and uneventful in my own personal opinion. Listening to holier than thou frogs, ignorant teenagers, emotion driven robots, and dense cavewomen talk about the philosophy of time travel and gods is one of the more boring things one can spend a night doing, though I did find their entity theory intriguing.

Stories and fables in Zeal spoke of a great and powerful being, FATE, that guides all of us. None were quite sure what exactly FATE was, but we all knew that something guided us, though when we found Lavos, the stories changed. Suddenly, with the discovery of Lavos, came a choice. Does one follow the path set for you by FATE, or does one walk the path shrouded in darkness and mystery. Zeal chose the darker path, look where it is now.

I could not say which what right then and I cannot say which is right at this moment. I have traveled many paths, dark and light, and none took me where I meant to go. Complain I have not, but I had long since chosen to forge my own path. Better to fail by your own doings than by those of gods and monsters.

She thought I was asleep, that we were all asleep. In reality, I knew the gate was there, and I knew what it was capable of. One with my powerful curiosity of all things magical and time related does not waste chances to gain knowledge of the time stream and the End of Time. I learned of many things in the time stream, though some of which I cannot explain, even to myself. As the gate closed around her, I wondered what could have been.

"Did I just give away my one chance at salvation? How could I let that little girl take what should have been mine?" the darkness in me asked.

"You've had your chances and blew them, now you must endure the consequences of your actions." What little moral voice left in me replied. For some, unknown reason, the robot woke up as I dealt with the conflict within me.

"Magus, why aren't you asleep?" the android asked. His humanity never ceased to amaze me, when it didn't annoy me. Often times I wondered how that machine could be so human, so alive, when the Nus who had been alive for aeons and had lived through so much, be so machine like.

"I do not sleep much." I replied simply. Though the robot's innocent nature annoyed me, I had long decided he was worthy of conversation.

"Where did Lucca go?" The robot asked. It could tell I knew.

"She went to undo some things in her past she'd rather had never been." I answered. This seemed to strike Robo as odd.

"But, she did not answer when asked about a moment she wanted to forget." Robo's did not question how she did this. I determine then that the android had some hand in that gate's existence.

"People do not usually want their weaknesses to be left out in the open. I'm sure there are people here who make her too uncomfortable to reveal such things." I tried to be as clear as I could without openly saying it: She didn't want to talk about it in front of me.

"Like who?" the robot asked.

"Like me." I said bluntly. I was almost offended by the robot's presumption that I was unaware of my unpopularity. I do not like being played for a fool and were I not aware of the robot sincerity, I would have torn it apart.

"Oh. You think she doesn't like you." It said, as if it suddenly realized what I meant.

"She doesn't trust me. I am not exactly someone to open up to." I replied. To him and everyone else, what happened on Death Peak never occurred. I myself had tried many times to forget, but then, I should have had more important demons to tackle.

"Yet here we are, talking as civil men. Perhaps you are not as off putting as you think you are." The robot said, ignorant of the truth that no matter how hard he tried, he, and I for that matter, could never truly be human.

"A robot and a mystic warlord talking as civil men? You are hardly a man, and I am hardly civil, I'm barely human."

"You talk harshly of yourself. Are you truly so unworthy of being human?"

"Humanity is below me, robot. I know the nature of things in this world. Goodness, honor, chivalry, humanity, they are all mistakes of evolution. They were never meant to be." I had contemplated this for years in my days with the mystics. I knew of Lavos' influence on the development of man, and I knew that we were molded just as we mold the robot.

"Perhaps. That is what you see through your experiences. I tend to disagree, though neither of us is truly wrong. You perception of things is accurate: Man's evolution was not natural, but all things happen for a reason, even Lavos." The robot had managed to argue his point without completely refuting mine, a fact that infuriated me. There was no right or wrong, as I expected there would be, with the robot. Perhaps he wasn't quite as ignorant to the ways of the world as I thought.

"She'll be coming back soon. Someone should be there, in case she returns in failure." I said, effectively ending our little discussion.

"Yes, of course." The machine complied, trying to decipher whether I was trying to escape the discussion or was truly concerned about the girl's feelings. In truth, I'm not quite sure.

The robot and I never spoke like that again, a fact for which I am glad. The cold, collected manner in which the robot spoke of such things was unsettling, even for me.

I watched the robot return to where he sat and lull back into his sleep state. The girl followed shortly behind him. Her body language read strangely. Something bothered her, but it was impossible to tell if she had failed, or if it was just the result of confronting such a harsh memory. Perhaps it was something else all together.

"How did you fare?" I asked quietly.

"What?" She said, startled. She thought I had slept and I wished I could have, but I had to know.

"Did you succeed? Is she alright?"

"How did you know?" She was concerned. I was not a social person and my interest in her clearly bothered her.

"I see things. I do not waste resources and I do not enter a situation uninformed. I've watched many lives end because of such things."

"I see." She said, unsure of what I meant. It was better that way, I didn't really want her prying into my life as I had hers.

"So?"

"Uh, yeah, um, it worked." She replied, stumbling with her words. It bothered her that I seemed to care so much.

"I am happy for you." I said, plainly with little sincerity. I truly was happy for her, but a part of me that was much stronger at that time was bitter that she had taken advantage of what was given to her when I did not.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"You deserved it." I said, overpowering the darker feelings within me.

"Deserved what?" She didn't want to be in this situation, talking to me about a harsh part of her life, but she wasn't about to be rude. Whether or not that was just her nature or some deeper fear of me, I wasn't quite certain.

"The chance. I knew what that gate was, and where it would take you, or me. You deserved to have the chance to change what happened." It was in that statement that I came to peace with allowing her to go through that gate.

"Why didn't you go?" She asked, now she was truly concerned. Memories of our talk on Death Peak began to surface in her head.

"You were tortured by demons that were not of your creation. What had happened was not your fault, yet it ate way at you. I wasted my chance. Who am I to take such an opportunity from someone who deserved it?" I tried to make it sound as if I had done something noble. Nobility is earned in action, not lack of action. What I did could be attributed to laziness, indifference, or cowardice.

"What happened in the Ocean Palace wasn't your fault, either." She said, trying to make me feel better. I knew the truth, though, selfishness was my downfall and I was just now coming to terms with that.

"Perhaps, when I was a child, that was true, but I had a second chance, just as you did, and I wasted it on personal vengeance. You did what I could not." I was, once again, acting weak and vulnerable with this girl, acting as if she and I had something that meant more than our alliance. Perhaps I was truly creating a bond with this girl, or perhaps I was just using her as a confessional, to cleanse myself of all sins and insecurities.

"Magus, I….we all have ghosts we have to conquer. Perhaps your ghosts are just darker than mine. You'll get through it, in time, I know you will." Her faith in me was mildly reassuring. Few had shown me such faith, though I know it came of circumstance. She didn't want to talk and was forced into saying something by my insistence to continue. She was too sweet of a girl to say something negative, as I would have.

"You are of higher spirits than I." I said, with pity for myself.

"Good night, Magus." She said, cautiously. She tried to escape the conversation. With everything that had happened to her that night, I didn't blame her for not wanting to discuss angst with me, but I was grateful for her attempt to make me feel better. I decided it wouldn't be fair to bring her down with my suffering any more than I already had, especially after she had done something that should have brought her higher than she had been in a long time.

"Good night, Lucca." I said, allowing myself to be left alone with my demons, knowing that right in front of me was proof that they could be conquered.

Hallo, Hallo. Here it is, the first new chapter to Pain, Love and Shame. As you may have noticed, I have decided to write this in the same style as I wrote Struggle For Happiness. If you haven't read that fic, go ahead into my Author's profile and read it. I know it isn't very good as it was written while I was just learning how to write effectively and I was playing with styles that were a bit over my head, but it is a nice little fic, if not a bit melodramatic, but isn't everything that I write? I dunno, anyway, read and review. I'm counting on you guys to keep me straight with this, so don't let me ruin it by getting sappy and foolish:) . Okay, so anyway, READ AND REVIEW and check up on my other stuff too (Just cuz its old doesn't mean its bad:) )

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!

Dark Creation


	3. Chapter Three: Lucca

Pain, Love and Shame

Part Three

We watch all and all tremble before us. All life bows to our will as we are perfect. We guide this lost world on the path to truth and perfection. We are FATE, and fate is us……

He looked different when we came back to 1000 A.D. and everyone could see it. He looked very different than he'd looked before, but not in the way we'd all expected. He didn't talk about what happened down there, against Lavos, like he was ashamed of it. He had a look of emptiness in his eyes. The change in him became even more apparent when, after we'd all separated to prepare for the moonlight parade, we stayed in Leene's Square and watched the races.

This may not seem odd to many, and in fact, Magus himself admitted he half enjoyed athletic competition, but the crowds of the Millennial Fair had always driven him away before, and he didn't seem all that much happier about them now. Yes, despite all that, there he stood, against a fence, sipping his cider and watching the races.

Little could I be bothered by such things, however, as Robo and I had a task to fulfill. Not one of any great danger, mind you, but equally as difficult: convincing rulers throughout time to come to our little party. It took a lot, but we managed. Kino was the most difficult, as he didn't really understand what was going on, but when we told him Ayla would be there, he immediately agreed. After we did what we set out to do, I thought I'd enjoy some of the festivities at the fair before the celebration at the Moonlight Parade. Unlike Magus, I loved the fair and everyone in it. I spent time tweaking my telepod and then I won the soda guzzling contest. With the silver points I won there, I thought I'd do a little gambling. When you spend months gambling with your life, it is a whole lot easier to gamble away silver points.

"Who's your racer?" The carnival man asked.

"G.I. Jogger?"

"Are you sure, he's been having cramps in his leg the past couple days. The Green Ambler is on a hot streak right now."

"I'm not here to win, I'm just having fun. Besides, the payday is a lot higher on G.I. Jogger."

"Fair enough." The man said, ripping me a ticket. "One for G.I. Jogger. If, and I do mean if, you win, come back here for your silver points."

"Okay." I said, walking towards the closer fence. I felt so good up to that point; it's a shame it all had to come to an end with a quick glance behind me.

There he stood, melancholy and brooding, sipping away at his cider, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. His eyes glanced around a bit, like he was looking for someone whom he knew wouldn't be there. He'd take a deep breath and sigh every once in a while.

The race was nearing the halfway point when I approached him. I thought, maybe, I could help him deal with whatever was bothering him. I thought I had done so before, so who was to say I couldn't do so again.

"How're you doing?" I asked, as straightforward as I could be.

"What sort of question is that? How do you think I am doing?" He replied angrily.

"Well, with everything that went on, I thought maybe you'd be happy, at least for a moment." I said, with a slightly smug tone. His utter refusal to escape his depression was beginning to wear on me.

"Things don't work that way, little one. They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Do you know why?"

"No." I replied, though I really did. I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Because when you are dead, you don't feel empty, wrong, or without purpose. I knew what was to become of my revenge. After a few years, I began to accept the fact that it would not make me any happier, any more complete." He said, cold and emotionless.

"Then why? Why did you persist?" I said, trying to get something out of him. He'd given me hints before, I thought perhaps he would open up fully, now that he had nothing to protect.

"Because I hate him, that's why! I hated him more than I loved anything. It stewed in me, and was only cultivated more by the mystics. Ozzie never would have been able to deal with the emptiness if he'd finally succeeded in crushing the humans, but he was blinded by his rage, unable to see that sorrow and pain were his future if he'd succeeded. I knew. I've known since I was your age, but it didn't matter. I knew I'd have to face this, I knew the consequences." His reply carried the same emptiness he claimed to now endure. It was here that I decided he wasn't genuine in his claims. Something else was bothering him and I would find out what.

"Why do you insist on torturing yourself? Are you some kind of masochist? I don't get it." I said, challenging him, trying to pry what ever bothered him from its dark hole in his soul.

"And you don't have to. I never asked for your help with my pain. I never asked for a friend. I asked for someone who could help me kill Lavos, and you all did that. When we separate tonight, I have no intention of even thinking about any of you again." He said, with little care for what he said. He seemed to mean it, though whether he did was debatable. I had known him more for exaggeration than any truthful hate or indifference, save for the beast he'd helped to kill.

"That, after all we did for you…" I tried to guilt him into admitting something, anything, any sign of what was brooding inside of him.

"You would have served me better by letting the Frog kill me on the cape." He said. He tried to save face, but it became more and more apparent that he wasn't quite as stable as he claimed.

"So that was what that taunting at the North Cape was about. A self induced death? You were going to let him kill you." I was determined to get it out of him. I was sure of it now, there was something left. He knew something, something dark.

"…None of you would understand. We were at a crossroads, and you would have gone on to destroy him anyway. The cogs of FATE held either death or sorrow for me on that day, and sorrow was the choice." This was the first time he'd spoken of such things. I wondered if this was part of what he was brooding about.

"What are you talking about?" His last statement reminded me of the conversation we'd had of 'the entity'. His words grew eerie, like when he, as a child, spoke of what would become Crono's death.

"Nothing. Nothing that you would have any comprehension of anyway." He sounded like he was trying to end the conversation, but when he could see that I would have none of it, he spoke more. "I was destined; either to die on that cliff, or live with what I am living with now. The paths offered to me have never been very good." He talked of destiny again. I began to think that 'destiny' had something to do with his current state.

"No, a person makes his own path, Magus. We all have a part to play, but we decide how we play it." I challenged him. This was not a challenge of ideology or philosophy, but of personal truth. I began to think that I had, perhaps, really gotten to the most basic and true parts of Magus, something I would soon regret.

"Poor, naïve little girl. Your words have rung with truth before, but now you are just being silly. Do you think you, or I for that matter, would have had the might to challenge Lavos if things, thousands of years in the making, hadn't been set in motion. We were all meant to experience what we did. Without it, we couldn't have beaten him. He would have slaughtered us like cattle, just like he did to Zeal." He said, with a fire I had seen little of. It seemed I was getting deeper.

"So you are saying we have no choice in how our lives end up." I said, with a slight hint of nervousness. I feared what he might say. Now, more than he ever had in Zeal, he sounded prophetic, like the harbinger of doom he'd once pretended to be.

"No, I am saying things are led a certain way. None of you realize it, but you were all destined to defeat Lavos. It was your purpose, your reason for existence. From this point forward, you will have to be cautious, aware, and alert. I fear there is no hope for Crono and Marle, as they have chosen a path to ruin…" He said. I initially thought he was just trying to rile me up, but looking back, I can see that he spoke only the truth as he knew it would be.

"What are you talking about?" I replied, more angry than anything else. I was beginning to regret prying.

"And without help, you will to." He said, with the dark, intimidating tone of voice he used as he posed as the prophet.

"Magus, stop it! This isn't funny." I replied, not caring for the conversation anymore. He was finally hitting the nerve he'd been looking for.

"I am not joking. The black wind has howled around you all since the day you were born. You live to kill and be killed, much like myself; only, I see my role lasting at least a bit longer than yours." He said, with that arrogant tone he had when we first met him in his castle. I was in such a state that I felt he was trying to anger me, as a sort of punishment for trying to get too deep.

"Magus, you may not like it, you may hate us for it, but you are no better than any of us." I tried to attack to his vanity and arrogance to get him to stop, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that they were not motivating factors in what he said.

"No. I harbor no ill will towards any of you, even the Frog, but you all are too caught up in yourselves and what you've done, that all will be lost. I may be a miserable bastard, but I am a smart, miserable bastard. My story has meant to end many times before now, yet here I am. I've learned to live this way, but I will tell you, most never get the chance, including you." I saw no malevolent smile upon his face, nor evil joy in his voice. He spoke almost apologetically now. I began to realize that this is what he brooded about. I had dug to where I wanted to go, but I didn't want to be there anymore.

"Magus…I…I don't understand." I couldn't take it anymore. Everything he said felt so horribly true. It gave me the same feeling I had when I first learned of what was in store for the future, only I could think of no way to stop any of it.

"That is the point. Though I will say this, you serve a deeper purpose than the others. You will live to see their fall, and you shall persevere, at least for a while." He said in a way that can only be described as a comforting taunt. It was like he knew that what he spoke of would, indeed, come true, but he tried to make me feel better about it.

"Magus, please stop…." I was almost begging him. He replied by gesturing towards the middle of Leene's Square, where Leene's Bell rang, not with the joyful, embracing tone the citizens of Truce had come to know and love, but with a dark, ominous ring.

"That bell tolls for the future, Lucca. I would pray it is not yours, if I were you."

Ooooooohh. Dark and brooding, a shadow of what is to come of this story. Not exactly what you expected. If so, good. If not, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I'll try to keep more coming, but I want this to be at least halfway good, so I'm gonna give it some time (I rewrote this chapter four times before creating this final product!). I hope you all like what this is going to become and I love to hear from you, good or bad, so keep the reviews coming. God bless and GO SOX!

Dark Creation


	4. Chapter Four: Magus

Pain, Love, and Shame

Part 4

"Magil. Magil! I need you!" A voice echoed through walls of the ruined Cathedral. I knew who it was, but quite frankly, I did not wish to speak to anyone.

"Magil, why did you not come when I called!" Garvin demanded a response from me. I have never been one to be commanded, and I was not about to change for the 'leader' of the Radical Dreamers.

I turned to face him. My anger must've showed because he backed away for a moment, before regaining his composure. He realized that to show his fear of me was to show his weakness, something the leader of an already small band of thieves did not need.

"I do not come when beckoned. I may serve your cause, but I am not your servant. I could just as easily take your little band away from you as I could assist you, so show proper respect, fool." I snapped back, intending to strike fear into the young thief's heart. It is easier to convince the fearful to do as you wish.

"You speak to me as if you were my superior…." His reply was weak, a last ditch effort to maintain his dignity and strength, but I knew I had crushed him already.

"I am." I said with a sneer. He knew at that moment that I could end him at any time, but his feeble mind still thought he was in command of the Radical Dreamers. A radical dream indeed.

"….You were correct in assuming…" He finally gave way to make his point known, though it seemed he went out of his way to insult my powers.

"Prophesizing." I interrupted him, making sure he knew that I did not appreciate my powers being taken so lightly.

"…Prophesizing that the Western Garrisons could be easily pillaged. However, there are those among my men who wish to go further, into the Main Garrison. I told them that it was suicide, but they insisted. I said I would consult with you and base my decision upon your advice." A simple task he asked of me. I needed not to even think of it, as I already knew what my answer would be.

"A wise move, young Captain Garvin. Of course, not all things can be seen, but of what I see, your campaign would be a success." I would have the boy and his men raid that garrison, though the reason for which was far from his war on Porre. There were much bigger things at stake.

"Indeed?" Again, he questioned my foresight, though I could not blame him this time. Where he only thought an attack of the Main Garrison of Porre would be his end, I knew for certain that it would be.

"Indeed, though you must hurry. After your attack on the Western Garrisons, the Porre Military is sure to respond quickly to protect its remaining garrisons." I tried to comfort his fears. Not an easy task when you know you are sending a man to his death.

"Thank you, Magil." He said, placing his hand on my shoulder in some desperate act of camaraderie. He was a fool to think I would be so blind to not see what he was doing.

"You need not thank me, Captain." I replied as I pushed his hand off my shoulder and brought my attention back to my readings. As he left, I found myself smiling at the fool's blind charge into death.

* * *

To think that the mighty Magus need play pawn to this ignorant little thief. The thought disgusted me, but it would not be long until his pride and ignorance were no longer a concern of mine.

I had hoped that my warning to young Ashtear would have been enough, but she still followed the path of the blind over the cliff, necessitating my return to this god forsaken era. Crono and Marle were expendable, but Lucca's mind held the key to making sure that everything worked out the way it was meant to.

The visions I endured at the End of Time haunted me less, now seven years since I witnessed them before the attack on Lavos. Still, their meaning was very clear. The success of the future hinged on my success now.

Oh, it could have been so easy, but the girl could not simply keep a low profile. The orphanage was bad enough. Through that, she became a symbol of hope and strength in Truce and all of Guardia, and I knew that would draw the attention of Porre someday. However, her continuing rivalry with the Porre techno-genius, Lucia, made her a jewel in the eyes of the high ranking Porre officials. It would only be a matter of days now, before they would come for her.

Oh, how wished I could have simply ended him and the little mystic girl, too. So much pain and suffering could be avoided in their destruction. I could have done it, it would have been rather easy, but my task, my quest, it required their lives to be spared, though their lack of knowledge of that fact would be a valuable tool.

* * *

The few that returned were broken and heavy hearted. Though I played them as pawns to be sacrificed, I could not help but take pity in their failure. Though misguided, their cause was noble and honorable. Nobility and honor meant little in the vast recesses of time and space, however.

I came to them for the first time. They had heard of me, yes, the powerful prophet that led Garvin to victory in every campaign he engaged in, though their faith in me had to have been shaken.

"You return in failure?" I asked them. They glared back up at me without trust. It seemed that the task of gaining their support would be as difficult as I imagined.

"Your vision was a lie." One of them responded. Though they had never seen me, it became quite apparent that they knew who I was.

"No, I foresaw something that you needed. Your pride and confidence had grown too great. A great battle you face in the future, but you must be cautious and humble as well as proud and confident if you are to succeed." I tried to assure them of their success, though I knew that at this point, most, if not all, was lost for them.

"Why should we fight for anything now! Garvin is dead; the Porre Military is too strong!" Came the reply from the disheartened thieves. I smirked, though I doubt it was noticed among the rabble, and tried to appear as confident and arrogant as I could. I decided that the key to winning over these beaten men's hearts was to instill the same confidence that I had once had in my quest against Lavos. A blind confidence, one that convinces a man that all he needs is opportunity.

"Your battle is against thousands and it is a battle that you mere forty cannot win. However, the pillar of strength in the Porre Military is vulnerable. You all know of whom I speak." I gave them their opportunity. The heart of the vast armies of Porre made itself far more vulnerable than he should have, and they were now coming to realize of what I spoke.

"Lynx is not so easily beaten." Another voice answered. True, for these men, to challenge the demi-human would be their end. They knew nothing of what I was capable of, however, and I intended to use that to my advantage.

"You need not beat Lynx. You only need to do as I command, and I assure you, your victory will be achieved. I have foreseen it….." They looked at me with an engaged curiosity, as though they had just the slightest drop of faith in what I spoke. Though I remained imposing and focused on the outside, echoes of laughter could be heard within my mind. I had never dreamed that it would be so easy as to suggest such a crude and uncertain goal and pass it off as a great and master plan.

The crowd began to murmur and roar with intrigue and I loved every minute of it. Through it all, I began to reminisce about my days as mystic warlord, how I manipulated those pathetic fools with empty promises and invincible arrogance, and found that this was just as it was in those days.

"I say to you, young men of Guardia, that should you wish to follow me to the restoration of the Guardia legacy, to decide quickly, as my plans require sharp minds, even sharper blades, and swift action." I gave them their ultimatum, politicking as I'd never done before. I appealed to these men's hearts and souls and loyalty, as opposed to the bloodlust and fear that so drove the mystic hoards. "Will you follow me to glory?" I asked, as a final ultimate request. It was so easy, and I would find that it was equally effective. The men cheered as I'd never heard them cheer. Apparently, Garvin led by example rather than by his 'great' oration skills, as I found my speech to be rather hammy and forced, but they responded none the less in a way Garvin never could get them to do.

I looked at my current situation and smiled upon it. Though my forces were severely hurt by that suicide raid, it was a sacrifice that needed to be made. I now had, instead of two hundred men fighting only for their share of the loot, forty men who would bleed every last drop of blood for me, and they would too, indeed they would. Now all that was left was to instill the quiet discipline necessary for this task, as it was not a simple raid on a weapons garrison. They could not simply overpower their opponent. This required stealth, restraint, and precision. I had only days to do this, and it would take at least a half a day to arrive to our location.

"I will need much from you. I cannot guarantee that any of you will return from this mission, but I can guarantee that should we be successful, our goal will come to fruition. The Ashtear Orphanage will be visited Lynx and an associate, a harlequin mystic named Harle, along with a minor escort squad, within the next few days. Lynx has never believed in armed escort as he is one who can protect himself, and that will be his weakness. There will be no more than ten men following them, and I ask that only half of you engage in combat. The other half of you will enter the Orphanage, upon my signal and my signal only, where you will secure the survival of the children, and one in particular who is of the highest priority. I will not lie to you, the orphanage must burn, but I promise that I will confront Lynx and his mystic wench, and I shall not fail you, but we must hurry as there are many preparation that need to be made…." I said as I rallied my troops to make our way to the forest surrounding the Ashtear Orphanage. This would be my greatest glory or my ultimate failure, and the lives of many hinged on my success...

* * *

Woah, how about that? Hmm. Anyway, if you liked that, I am happy for you and if you didn't, all your base are belong to me. In all seriousness, however, I do hope that you are enjoying this story, even though I am updating at a ridiculously slow pace. This IS a slight chrono crossover, though the Chrono Cross aspects are mostly minor. I am trying to make this a Magus and Lucca piece (Not nessecarilly a LuMa, though it may go that way, I'm not sure) that follows the timeline given to us by Square, though some alterations, I will have made (tee hee:) ). Anyway, I leave you on that note. God Speed, Spider-Man!

Dark Creation


	5. Chapter Five: Lucca

Pain, Love, and Shame

Part 5

Despite my unique expertise on the subject, the real workings of time elude me. In fact, I would go so far as to say my special understanding of time has done little but muddle the subject for me. To stick with the general questions of time, those asked by people with normal experience of time, is almost a refreshing break from the questions I have, even though I have found few answers to any of them.

Why does time seem to move faster at some moments and deathly slow in others? A question asked by many, including myself, with no real logical answer. The gears of the clock and the electrical impulses within the computer, even the basic functions of life are all slaves to that one heartbeat that is time, yet we complex living things seem to experience time more like a grand orchestral piece, with many ups and downs and varying speeds. And despite my greatest efforts, I have yet to discover why we experience time so.

I wish I could understand, so I could finally figure out why those seven years after our return from the Battle of Lavos went by so quickly. The generally accepted theory as to why time seems to fluctuate speeds is that it moves faster when you are happy and slower when you are not. I can refute this claim by saying that those were the fastest seven years of my life, and with them came rage and sorrow abound. The tears I shed over those seven years could have filled the great ocean that separates the Zenan Continent from the El Nido Archipelago. I lost my best friends, I lost my parents, I lost everything I had ever known and with every loss came another child. Perhaps Fate's way of saying sorry, but I have long lost the will to speculate on the matter.

But, as it always does, time eventually did slow down. It's rather funny, but I remember the exact moment it slowed down. In retrospect, there are no real logical reasons as to why it did. The time that followed was no happier than the time before and the only noticeable change in my life was one that would make little sense as an explanation to the deceleration of the pace of time.

It did always seem that time moved slower when he was around, though. Even the first time I saw him…we would face far greater battles, but it was the battle against him that seemed like it would never end. I often wondered if everything moved slower for him all the time, like his mere presence would alter the space-time continuum, though I highly doubt such was the case.

He came so suddenly; it was very strange. It was like he knew he was meant to come to me that day. Though I can only speculate, he probably did know. He always knew stuff like that. It was the simple and little things that were hard for him. The deeper, greater things, he understood like it was basic arithmetic, but the small things, like a person's feelings, were all too often lost to him, usually to his own discretion. He didn't like talking about things like that, though for some reason, he had with me. Yet he came and greeted me with a question inquiring about just that.

"How are you, Lucca?" He said, with the softest tone I had ever heard him use. He was always so sharp and rough, but with that question, all the rough edges smoothed. I was naturally suspicious, not only at his sudden appearance, but also about the tone he used. He seemed to have changed, though whether or not it was for the better was another question entirely.

I waited for a moment to reply. From what I knew of Magus, he never engaged in light conversation. When he spoke, it was most often for a reason, and I questioned whether the "here and now" was a good one to engage in such a conversation. It was different back then, when it was just us. I had a child with me now. Children bore easily, and tend to make their own fun, and somehow I doubted that Magus would appreciate that innocent playfulness.

"I am fine." I said without giving him my full attention. I wanted him to know that the child with me took priority, and he seemed to understand. He knelt down next to her and spoke.

"And who is this cute little girl?" He asked, playfully. It was strange seeing him act that way, but I knew it was his way of saying that it could wait.

"…" The girl didn't respond, hesitant as he was a stranger, and a menacing looking one at that. She looked to me to see if it was okay and I nodded in approval. "I'm Kid."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Kid. What are you and Lucca doing?" He asked. Kid was still slightly frightened of him, not yet having trust in the dark looking stranger who had suddenly knelt next to her.

"Me and Sis are starting a garden." She replied, with a little more confidence now. She seemed to be warming up to him, slightly.

"Wow! That sounds like fun! You should be really excited, I remember a time when 'Sis' only played with machines." He said, jabbing at me a little. I smiled at the remark as I knew it was true.

"Oh, but Sis does everything with me! Sis is the best!" Kid responded with great pride. She always did when she talked about me. She loved me like a mother and I could only return that love, as she was just as good as a daughter to me. She was the first, only a babe when I found her. And as much as I loved all the children, she would always hold a special place in my heart.

"Does 'Sis' ever tell you stories? Has 'Sis' ever told you about me and Crono, and Princess Nadia, and the rest of us?" He asked, growing curious as too how much I actually told the children about what we'd done.

"..Um…She told us about Mister Crono and Miss Marle and Sir Frog and Robo, and Ayla and Magus and all the adventures they had. It's really fun to hear her tell those stories." The child replied with such enthusiasm. She loved those stories. She especially loved to hear about Frog. I never called him Frog when I told the stories, but they still all called him Frog. To tell the truth, she didn't like hearing about Magus much. He was the "big meanie" who turned Glenn into Frog.

"Kid, do you want to go in and play with Mibo?" I asked, referring to a small replica toy of Robo I had built years ago. Mibo was Kid's favorite toy and I knew she wouldn't refuse. She didn't even give a reply. As soon as I asked, a big smile grew across her face and she ran inside followed by her innocent laughter. I turned my attention back to Magus and that playful face he had worn for Kid had faded away, giving way to that grim and gloomy Magus that I had known before.

"Time has treated you well." He said, though I do not know exactly what he was remarking about. Nothing about me had changed for the better. I was worn out and tired. My mind was running on fumes which was far more than my body was, and my soul, well, my soul weathered a lot of storms over those seven years.

"Has it?" I said, only able to think about all I'd lost. Immediately after I said it, however, I decided that that 'woe is me' attitude would not serve me here. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."

"I see that, though I was beginning to think the children were a way for you to cope." He said, like he was judging me. He was beginning to bother me, but not with what he said. Nothing he did told me anything about why he was there, and I was growing nervous, remembering back to that day in Leene's Square.

"I love my children, but a lot has happened." I replied, but I didn't really want to. I was tired of the subject already as those wounds, even after seven years, still hurt. "I still try to keep busy, though it's a little harder than it used to be, with the kids and all, but I've made some really neat stuff. Even you might be interested in some of the things I've built." I tried to change the subject, hoping he would want to change it with me.

"Yes, I know. I saw your project at the Technology Fair in Porre. You took first place, didn't you, with the Power Seal Advanced Model?" He said, taking my bait, though in retrospect, I see now that I was taking his.

"Yes, but that was just a prototype model. I finished a fully-functional product last month."

"I remember, on the mountain, you said you probably couldn't fix it, now you've improved upon it. Lucia never had a chance, did she?" He said, referencing my rival. He was really playing me well. I never saw it coming.

"Oh, she just needs time. She still has the drive. I'm forcing myself to work, and soon that won't be enough." It was true. I'd lost my will for it. Within a year, maybe two, Lucia would surpass me and to tell the truth, it didn't bother me. It would have, years ago, but it didn't matter anymore.

"It has worked well enough. You've garnered a lot of attention from some rather shady characters." He said, twisting the subject to what he came to talk about.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you to be careful and you didn't listen." He said bluntly. I understood why he allowed me to change the subject. I couldn't believe I allowed myself to be played like that.

"What was I supposed to do? We can't all disappear for seven years like you can, Magus. It was all I had to stay sane. Even with the children, every time I look into their faces, I see another death. I weighs rather heavily after a while. You should understand that." I replied, trying desperately to make him see, but he was as blind as he'd ever been.

"It is not my life at risk, Lucca. Hell, it's not just your life, but I'm sure you thought about that." He said sarcastically and I knew exactly what he meant and I was appalled by it. For him imply that I didn't care enough to think of the well being of my children was an insult to my very humanity.

"Don't you dare say anything like that to me again. You have NO place saying anything like that to me. My children are my life!" I said, knowing that would make him remember his own mistakes regarding the lives of those HE loved. Indeed, I could tell my point was made, as he changed his tactics.

"…The path you chose is one of ruin, you understand that, right?" He said, trying his best to sound like he did that day at the Millennial Fair, but I'd grown up a lot in those seven years, and I was not nearly as bothered by his ominous prophecies.

"The path I chose is the path I chose and nothing more. I chose to live…" I tried to reply, but he would have none of what I would say.

"And in so doing you chose to die." He interrupted. He sounded much more serious. His sarcasm and ominous air were gone.

"I suppose, but then of course that is saying that I have nothing to say in the matter." I replied with as much confidence as I could muster. I wasn't going to let his pessimism get to me, not without a fight anyway.

"Lucca, I'm not going to play games with you anymore. They are coming. They are coming now and they will be here soon. This is not some faceless killer; this is a direct tool of FATE. Prepare as you will, but know that the odds are not in your favor. The man and the girl who come for you are more powerful than you realize. I will do what I can, but I have restrictions of my own to deal with." He said, giving me no answers, just more questions; questions that he was determined not to answer.

"Like what?"

"You wouldn't understand." He replied, like always did, assuming ignorance. That assumption was not one I would tolerate.

"That excuse has grown weak, Magus. I understand a whole lot more than you realize. Speaking of which, how are things going with the Radical Dreamers." I was growing tired of his secrets and hoped that by exposing one of them, he would reveal the rest, a hope that was quashed.

"They are a means to an end, Lucca, one of which you started to fight for, but refuse to finish the job." He said as he was growing angry with me, though it didn't seem like it was for the same reasons I though it would be.

"What are you talking about?" His reply had raised more questions. I just couldn't understand why he wouldn't get to the point. Maybe I was just angry, I don't know, but Magus seemed determined to withhold as much information as he could.

"I'm done talking to you, Lucca. I'll just say what I came to say and be done with it: They'll say their coming for you, but in truth they don't know what they are coming for, but I do." He said, shifting his gaze towards my home, then back to me. "Don't give them anything, no matter what, or everything that you and I and Crono and the rest of us fought for will be undone. Make your preparations, they will be here tonight." When he finished, he turned and left.

I knew what was in store for me; at least I had a good idea. I'd known it was coming for a while, but I didn't know it was coming so soon. I looked back inside and saw Kid in the doorway, playing with Mibo. I smiled, though I was just realizing what Magus was talking about. I went inside to retrieve a letter that I'd long ago written and sent it away on a carrier pigeon to Porre, to someone who I knew would make sure that Kid would read it. Then I went back inside to spend some time with my children, knowing that it would very well be last time I had to be with them.


	6. Chapter Six: Magus

Pain, Love, and Shame

Part Six

You could have ran, you know. It's why I came to you and said what I said. I wanted to give you a chance. You deserved it, though I wouldn't say it to your face. You'd really messed up, but you still deserved a chance to run, even though doing so would mean the end of everything we fought so hard for.

If you had run, he would have chased you. You could have eluded him, with Kid, and lived a life running from him, but you would never stop running, and you couldn't take the others with you, and it would undo everything I have tried to do. But of course, you know that, don't you.

Indeed there is more to you than I would have guessed. I gave you the chance to ruin everything and ensure your survival, but you didn't. I suppose I should have given you more credit than that. You were always intelligent, and though I refused to admit it, you were my equal, yet I found myself worrying that you wouldn't figure it out, but you did. I'm proud of you.

You stood before the face of death and did not waver. You risked everything you had on a leap of faith: That I would protect you, and the children, from whatever darkness would come for you tonight.

As I look upon your crumpled form now, I wish I could have done more to earn that faith. The flames are stalking you now, like a pack of coyotes stalking a fresh carcass, and you do not move. You cannot move. You cannot speak, you cannot act, you can do nothing to prevent what is coming for you, though by the faint sound of the short gasps of breath emanating from you body, I can see that you are at least alive to experience it.

I'm sorry.

I wanted to come and save you, but I had my own duties to follow. I had to send young men to their deaths against a foe far greater than they ever realized. I sent a group of them after him, to distract him for a moment, and to get an idea of how powerful he truly was. They knew that they rushed to their doom. I know that because I could see it in their eyes. They ran, with their swords held high, screaming terrible cries of war and pain as he cut them down, but it kept him from leaving with her, it weakened him, even the slightest bit. It gave me time.

The rest, though, were doing what you would have wanted them to do. The fire had already spread though the house, but they rushed in and took the children to safety, nonetheless. All of them. You'd have been happy to see that they were safe.

Yet I was not among them, either. I was in the shadows, watching it all happen, and waiting for my chance to strike, and then it came.

He ran, with Kid in his arms, after the attack, with the harlequin following him. The forest was dark, and there was no way for him to see me there, within the tree tops, waiting for him.

I watched as he passed by, furious that you hadn't given him what he came for. Had he known how important that little girl he held in his hands would be, he would have been satisfied.

"Coward! Killer in the darkness." I said from the trees, trying to sound menacing and hellsent. I saw the harlequin react as I spoke. She heard my voice clearly, and though I wasn't sure how, I could tell that she knew who I was. All the better.

"Monsieur Lynx, vee must flee! Quickly!" She said, with fear overwhelming her. "Zees eez a foe vee cannot face now!" She said, knowing what I had done, because a part of her had endured it.

"What? I will do nothing of the sort! Go and hide if you wish, but I will be frightened by no man." He said angrily, turning his attention away from me and toward his companion, completely unaware of what she really was to him.

I decided this was when I'd make myself known. I leapt from the trees, still hidden in the shadows, and allowing the red glow from my eyes to be the only illumination. I stared at him, and her, for what seemed like the longest time. I watched them decide what their next move would be.

Lynx seemed to be formulating a plan, but the harlequin; there was something about her that shook me to my soul. I could see it in her face and in her eyes. Behind all of the make-up and that accent, she was familiar. A demonic distortion of a face I once loved.

"You should listen to your friend. Leave the girl and go……" I said, trying to make this as painless as possible, though I should have known he would have none of that.

"Hmph. You frighten only her. You'll have to do a lot more to get under my skin." He said, tossing the unconscious child aside like a piece of trash. I growled inwardly, wanting to flay his flesh in ways only the devil could imagine.

"What a coincidence, 'Getting under your skin' was exactly what I had in mind." I tried to sound even more menacing, but it was getting harder and harder. I couldn't kill him, but it would be nothing for him to kill me. Still, I took out my scythe as if none of it mattered at all.

"Very well, fool, if that is how you wish to play." Lynx said, letting his arrogance, and his scythe, show, though I could hardly blame him. This would have been a difficult battle, even if I didn't have to hold back.

Before I could reply, he lunged, ready to land a death blow early. I certainly wasn't going to let that happen, and parried the blow rather easily. After facing weakling after weakling in that ambush, he half expected me to be as easily conquered. I let it be known that I wasn't going to be beaten as easily, as I spoke a weak shadow spell to force him back. He was surprised, it wasn't hard to tell.

"A mage. Very interesting. I should have known. You seem to be quite well practiced to summon forth a spell so easily, though I must admit, have skills in the dark arts myself." Lynx said, though I did not know what he was trying to accomplish. I knew of his skills, at least I thought I did. "I've never had to do this before. I'm not even sure I have to now, but I'd like to see how you'd react, oh great Magus." He said as he began chanting. He'd figured me out. The creature of FATE was certainly linked very closely to its master, though there was little time to ponder the situation. He chanted and chanted, growing louder and more demonic. It was difficult to make out what he said, though the last two words were very clear: Forever Zero.

I cannot say it was entirely unexpected, though I certainly didn't expect him to use his best spell so early in the battle, nor did I expect it to hurt so much, even through my barrier. But after the spell faded, there I was, forced to one knee, with only one option that would level the playing field, though I was greatly worried that it might just level something else entirely.

I had begun my chant as soon as I realized just what he was doing. I knew it would take a lot of energy out of me, but it was my only option, I just hoped it wouldn't kill him.

I raised my hand to the sky and hoards of dark energy began to swarm around me. This was it. I could feel my life crawling out to the ends of my fingers, just barely maintaining consciousness. I pointed towards the two of them and released all the energy I had gathered on one massive attack. I could see the look on their faces, the pain, the suffering, the agony. Dark Matter had that effect on people.

The spell faded and the two of them were on the ground. I could see their chests heave; they were still alive, for the moment.

I was relieved, to say the least. I had taken a great risk, and now I was barely able myself, to take the Kid to safety.

I made my way past their almost lifeless bodies and marveled in my victory, at least until I saw her face, wrecked with pain. The harlequin, the mystic. I saw HER in her face and it was almost too much to bear. It was her! I couldn't explain it, nor did I want to, but it was HER.

I couldn't look at her anymore. I quickly made my way to where Lynx had discarded Kid and attempted to leave, but I could not, not without a final confrontation.

"….Prophet." She said, aimlessly, grabbing my attention immediately. She remembered, but only what I had allowed her to see when I had come back to her those years ago.

"Indeed, though who are you, that is the question, is it not?" I said, as collected as I could, hoping the harlequin could give me some insight, though in this state, I doubted it. Her body was stilled racked with pain, and it hurt me so to see her this way, even if she was only part of the woman I had once loved. She looked to the ground to her right, to see me collecting the child with utmost care. Though the harlequin proved to be very intriguing, Kid was my one objective, my one prize.

"Vat are you doing here, Monsieur?" She asked, weakly getting to her feet, her accent hiding once again what had sounded so familiar just moments before.

"I cannot say. At least, not to you, not now." I said, wanting to say something. I knew what she was, what this creature hid within her, and I wanted to free it, but I knew I couldn't.

"Oui. J'comprendre le predicament you are in. Eet is very strange to see you here, though I must say, I am not surprised. Il est tres bien voir tu encore. I hope…someday…vee can…."

"We will, I promise." I interrupted as I knew what she wanted, because I wanted it to. "You'd better go and take him somewhere safe. In your weakened condition, I'm not sure you can fend off the rest of my soldiers." I knew exactly what she represented. I knew who she was and what she was meant to do, but I never though that she would be…..

"Indeed, Monsieur……" She said, saddened that I was sending her away. I could see it in her eyes, the questions she had and I wanted to answer them, but if I did, the future would be in jeopardy, and I was not going to sacrifice everything that I had worked for, almost died for, to appease some simple emotion within me. There would be another time, and another place. "Very well. Until vee meet again, Adieu…." She said, with a loving tone that I had missed so, leaving me to the towering blaze before me and questions that could only be answered by the creature running into the shadows behind me.

Everything had gone right, yet it felt so wrong. Kid was here safe and the other children were too, but it still didn't feel right.

I regained myself as quickly as I could and ran back toward the orphanage.

I was met there by one of my captains. He told me the children were out, but you were still inside. They said they couldn't get to you because of the fire, but I knew of no flames that could hold me down. I ran in, to salvage that one last piece of the puzzle.

And that's when I found you. Broken, alone, awaiting death with a silent fear. I knelt next to you, searching for a sign of life. Your faint breath gave me a little hope, though it pained me greatly to see you in that state. You had always been so full of life, and now you were in danger of losing it all.

The flames began stalking you, and I knew then what needed to be done. You had served your purpose here and were now needed elsewhere. I raised my hands and began to chant. The shadows crawled about the room, even with the swarm of light and glowed from the flames. A dark hole in space opened up below you and took you away from all the pain and all the suffering.

Goodbye, Lucca. We shall meet again.

Well, that was surely interesting. I'm sorry the fight scene was kind of boring, but I never thoughta fight between Lynx and Magus would last long, no matter who won, and I was really anxious to work in the harle stuff. Anyway, I hope you like it. I'm sorry my story shot to the top of the first page with no real update. I HAD posted a chapter 6, but I hated it just a hour or so after I posted it so I got rid of it. To those of you who had the displeasure ofreadingit, I apologize and hope this appeases you. If Harle's french and accent seem poor or confusing, I'm sorry. If you NEED a translation of what I was (poorly) having her say, go ahead and ask. Anyway, read and review and hopefully this chapter is as strong as the rest. I'm done here, GO SOX, GO PATS!

Dark Creation


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